Reference Book on NATO Rationalization, Standardization and Interoperability (RSI). Volume 1. Public Laws and Reports, Memoranda of Understanding, Secretary of Defense Annual Report to Congress, Intellectual Property Rights Transf

摘要

The NATO Alliance has acknowledged from its inception that military and economic advantage would accrue from the promotion of commonality, or at least comparability, in tactical doctrine, modes of organization, procedures and equipment. For many years, however, achievement fell short of aspiration, especially in development and production of military equipment. NATO fielded a large variety of equipments over the years for essentially equivalent roles. Standardization offers the prospect of greater interoperability among Alliance armed forces and also less expense in the acquisition of weapon systems, because of scale and other economies, and logistics savings over the lifetime of weapons. More economical procurement is not the ultimate purpose of the rationalization effort, however, but rather a way of safeguarding military effectiveness in the face of budgetary constraints. The five top priority areas for interoperability and standardization established by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and are endorsed by the NATO Military Committee are: (1) command, control, and communication systems; cross-servicing of aircraft; (3) ammunition; (4) compatible battlefield surveillance/target designation/acquisition systems; (5) interoperability and standardization of components and spare parts in all programs.